Wet Chemical Extinguishers

Our wet chemical extinguishers are used on deep fat fryer fires and pan fires. These types of fires are very hard to extinguish, as the jet of a traditional extinguisher will carry the burning fat out of the container and help spread the fire. Also, using water or foam fire extinguishers with traditional nozzles (other than the special dry water mist extinguishers) will result in water droplets sinking into the fat which will then violently erupt again spreading the fire and potentially injuring the person using the extinguisher. Our wet chemical extinguishers have a long lance that helps to safely lay a foam carpet onto the fat which will remove oxygen and cool the fat.
New in our range of pan fire extinguishers are the ABF extinguishers and the Cooking fire aerosol.

What colour are wet chemical fire extinguishers?

The body of the wet chemical fire extinguisher is usually red. On the front of the extinguisher is a bright yellow rectangle with the words 'wet chemical'. The extinguisher can also be recognised by the long lance instead of a hose which is used to lay a foam blanket onto the burning fat rather than 'splashing' a fire fighting agent onto the surface and risking the spread of the fire through burning droplets. the lance also helps the operator to keep a safe distance to the fire.

How does a wet chemical fire extinguisher work?

Wet chemical fire extinguishers are usually supplied with a long lance which helps to safely deploy the foam. The wet chemical forms a thick soapy foam-like blanket over the surface of the burning oil/fat which stops oxygen from reaching the fire and smothers the flames. This process is known as 'saponification', which is an endothermic process that not only ensures that the additive penetrates the fat/oil and creates a seal, but also cools it to below the ignition temperature, thus preventing the oil/fat from re-igniting. It is important that the ENTIRE content of the wet chemical extinguisher is deployed on the fat, even after the flames have been extinguished, as the fire otherwise will re-ignite!